Review: Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

cover of Black Mouth by Ronald MalfiBlack Mouth by Ronald Malfi
Titan Books (July 19, 2022)
448 pages; $15.99 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

When an evil once thought vanquished rears its ugly head again, a group of childhood friends reunite to confront it, hoping to put an end to it — and to some raging personal demons of their own — once and for all.

That’s the premise of Ronald Malfi’s new novel Black Mouth, and if you think it sounds familiar, you’re right. Serious Stephen King vibes permeate this book, from the obvious parallels to IT to the overtones of “The Man in the Black Suit” that color the Magician character. However, while Malfi is treading familiar ground here, he’s carving his own path, and it’s a journey well worth taking with him.Continue Reading

Interview: Catching Up with Ronald Malfi

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photo of author Ronald Malfi
Ronald Malfi

For me, an avid reader of horror who reads nothing but books in this genre day in and day out, Ronald Malfi is among the legends. He is the award-winning author of several novels, novellas, and two short story collections, and I feel like I have only scratched the surface of his work.

My introduction to his storytelling was the collection, We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone. The first story stood up and punched me square between the eyes, making me a fan for life! I highly recommend it. Later, I went on to read December Park (one of my favorite coming-of-age novels with an intense murder-mystery-thriller storyline) and Bone White (a creature-feature with heart, high-stakes, and themes of loneliness/isolation).

I’m excited that I have more Malfi books to look forward to both from his back catalog of fan-favorites and new releases. We talk about those books and more in this interview.
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Revelations: Ronald Malfi

For the most part, the authors featured in these columns have impacted my development and growth as a writer primarily through their work. Ronald Malfi impacted me as a person, first, before I delved into his work. Looking at his career path, getting to know him as a person first has impacted me just as much as his work has.Continue Reading

Review: We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone by Ronald Malfi

We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone by Ronald Malfi
JournalStone (November 2017)
299 pages; $29.95 hardcover; $16.67 paperback; $9.95 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone, the debut short story collection from Ronald Malfi, is a bit of a mixed bag. Although the twenty shorts included do make for an enjoyable read, I have to say I much prefer Malfi’s recent novels to the tales included here. Little Girls made my top ten list in 2015, The Night Parade did the same in 2016, and Bone White is my favorite read so far in 2017.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Bone White’ by Ronald Malfi

Bone White by Ronald Malfi
Kensington (July 2017)
384 pages; $10.17 paperback; $7.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

Seven years ago I was sent an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) for a novel called Snow by some author named Ronald Malfi. I’d not read anything by him then, and at first the novel looked pretty pedestrian. Monsters devastate a town during a blizzard. The initial setup seemed to point in that direction: a flight is cancelled because of the snowstorm, so several folks set out in a rental car to try for home the long way, and come upon a town cut off by the storm. It looked like a fairly simple paint-by-the-numbers affair, albeit written very well.Continue Reading

My First Fright featuring Ronald Malfi

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is a beloved family classic, the tale of a lonely young boy and a lost alien who form a deep, psychic connection and who, ultimately, have to say goodbye. Sweet, right? Touching. Tears. For Ronald Malfi, however, the film was a harrowing experience, akin to other Spielberg horror classics like Jaws or Poltergeist. Who knew that weird little alien with the glowing finger could be so terrifying?Continue Reading

Review: ‘The Night Parade’ by Ronald Malfi

nightparadeThe Night Parade by Ronald Malfi
Kensington (July 2016)
384 pages; $9.37 paperback; $7.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

For the most part, I’m not an avid reader of post-apocalyptic fiction. I loved The Stand (of course), Brian Keene’s The Rising, and I enjoyed One by Conrad Williams. That’s about it. But, as with everything else he writes, Ronald Malfi is able to mine the core of the human experience, elevating what could be just another exercise in a well-worn horror trope to a powerfully affecting story. As always, his prose is tight, powerful, and he has the same capacity as Stephen King to breathe life into three-dimensional, fully-realized characters.Continue Reading

Review: 'Little Girls' by Ronald Malfi

Little Girls by Ronald Malfi
Kensington (June 2015)
384 pages, $10.35 paperback/$9.83 ebook
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

LittleRonald Malfi is the award-winning author of the novels Floating Staircase, Snow, The Ascent, and several others. He currently lives along the Chesapeake Bay where he is at work on his next book.

Laurie Genarro’s estranged father has passed away, an apparent suicide, and Laurie, her husband, Ted, and ten-year-old daughter Susan have traveled from Connecticut to Maryland to deal with the estate. When they pull up to the house on Annapolis Road Susan comments, “It looks like a haunted house.” Little did they know what they’d find.Continue Reading